The only son of late philanthropist Brook Astor had his inheritance cut in half under the terms of the settlement reached in the five-year legal battle over the control of his mother’s estate. Anthony D. Marshall, currently age 87, was also stripped of his control over the sizable charitable contributions his late mother’s estate will soon begin making.

Brooke Astor died in 2007 at the age of 105. However, after allegations arose in 2006 claiming that her son had been mishandling her affairs as her legal guardian, the question of who would run her estate after she died has been in doubt. Much of that doubt was removed after Mr. Marshall was convicted of stealing from his mother three years ago and sentenced to one to three years in prison. Though he is currently appealing the conviction, the terms of the settlement brokered by the New York office of the Attorney General will apply regardless of the outcome of the appeal.

Under the terms of the settlement Mr. Marshall will receive $14.5 million of the original $31 million inheritance he was going to receive. He will also play no role in the creation or management of the Brooke Astor Fund for New York Education. This fund will be started with a $30 million endowment from the Astor estate. The rest of the estate funds will go towards other charitable groups such as Central Park and city playgrounds located in New York City.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Tip 1: Get regular advice.

The best way to ensure your inheritance wishes are met is to always speak to your estate planning lawyer whenever you make an inheritance decision. Even though you may know what you want, you may not be aware of the best way to ensure that your wishes are met. Your attorney will be able to advise you on what you need to do.

Tip 2: Use specific gifts carefully.

Let’s say that you created a Will soon after the birth of your daughter. In it you decided to give her your home as part her inheritance. Decades later you decide to sell your home and move to Florida. What happens to your daughter’s inheritance now that you no longer have the specific property you left her in your will? In legal circles this is known as ademption. It effectively disinherit your daughter because the property you left is no longer yours. In order to prevent this you will need to either regularly review your estate plan or create a plan that does not base inheritance only on specific named gifts.

Tip 3: Don’t assume your inheritances only come from your Will.

Today, many estate plans avoid passing property through a last Will and testament as much as possible. Basing your inheritance choices solely on the property distributed according to your Will can leave to an unintentional inequality. Much of your property, such as joint property you own with someone else and property that has a right of survivorship, will not be covered under your will. If you fail to take this property into account when choosing who receives an inheritance, this can lead to an imbalance that you may not have wanted.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Step 1: Decide on a cause.

There are an endless number of charities that support numerous different causes, each of which is important. It’s not possible to donate money to every worthy cause, so you should pick one, or several, with which you most strongly identify.

Step 2: Research the charity.

Not all charities are equal, and some of them are downright dishonest. The American Institute of Philanthropy recommends that at least 60 percent of any donation should go to the charity itself and not to overhead or other expenses. Research your potential charities carefully before you make any decision about who should receive your money.

Step 3: Determine the amount.

Always make sure that the amount you give to charity is something that you are comfortable with. Though the charity may want more from you, you must be happy that your estate plan meets your other desires, such as providing for your family, children and loved ones.

Step 4: Write it down.

Once you have decided on the charities you want to donate to, make sure you inform your estate planning attorney so he or she can make adequate inclusions in your plan. It isn’t enough to simply express your wishes to donate to charity after you die, and you must create some concrete form that records your wishes. This is typically done by creating a last will and testament, trust, or other instrument through which you can give a donation.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Issue 1. Financial ruin.

It sounds so counterintuitive, but those who suddenly inherit a lot of money can very quickly fall into financial difficulty just as fast. Consider, if you will, the fact that over 70 percent of NFL and NBA athletes are bankrupt or in dire financial straits within five years of retirement.

Why? Many people believe it is because these people are not psychologically and financially prepared to deal with the issues that come with large amounts of wealth. For many people, questions about money are relegated to assistants, friends and family members who may be ill-prepared to render proper advice and services. These people may also take advantage of the people whose money they are supposed to manage, often leading to not just financial ruin, but destroyed personal relationships.

Issue 2. Happiness.

Neither the poor nor the wealthy have a monopoly on happiness. However, while you are much less likely to be happy if you are poor, your chance at being happy does not increase proportionally with the size of your wealth. Researchers have determined that beyond a minimal amount of money you need to live and to meet certain desires and needs, happiness does not typically come from material possessions, but rather from a sense of purpose and meaning that we derive from other sources. Inheriting wealth is often a hindrance to this sense of purpose as there are few obstacles a person must overcome when their wealth allows them to indulge any whim.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

For most people, the laws and procedures surrounding estate planning are something far too academic and, quite frankly, boring to pay much attention to. However, it’s common to come across popular notions or widely held myths about some estate planning issues in our day-to-day lives. Though many of these myths are harmless and sometimes fun, there are a couple that can be damaging to you and your legacy.

Damaging Myth 1: I don’t need to create an estate plan because I’m not wealthy/old/sick.

Reality. Of all the estate planning myths, this one is the the most damaging. Every adult aged 18 and over can benefit from some estate planning efforts. Even if you don’t have a lot of property, you will want to have an estate plan in the event you get sick or die prematurely. If you have children, your need for an estate plan is even greater as only an estate plan can allow you to take specific steps, such as naming a replacement guardian.

Dangerous Myth 2: All I need is a will.

Reality: Though a will is a key part of every estate plan, is usually not enough. There are some questions that a will cannot answer, such as the kinds of medical care you want to receive if you suffer from a disease that prevents you from expressing yourself. To get a better idea of what a complete estate plan entails, you should speak to an estate planning lawyer as soon as you can.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you have a social media account, e-mail addresses or other digital assets, you may have occasionally wondered what would happen to these things in the event you die. While you can generally grant someone else access your accounts, this access may be contrary to the policies of the website that hosts or owns the digital asset. Currently, there are no specific laws that address this digital estate planning issue.

However, Nebraska lawmakers have recently introduced a bill that would make it the first state to adopt a law directly addressing digital estate planning issues. The proposed law states that an estate executor, known as a personal representative, will have the authority to not only access a decedents social media and e-mail accounts, but will also have the ability to control and dispose of these assets as he or she sees fit.

Currently sites like Twitter, Google, and Facebook have varying procedures involved when a member dies leaving behind an account. For example, Facebook will memorialize a deceased person’s account once it learns that the person has died, while Google and Twitter require notification from an executor that includes a copy of the death certificate plus other forms of notification.

Though the bill has not been approved or signed into law, it appears that this is the first kind of legislation introduced into a state legislature anywhere in the country. As digital assets become increasingly prevalent in estate planning issues, it appears likely that other states may follow with different forms of legislation.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Since dying at the age of 104 in May, 2011, heiress Huguette Clark’s estate has drawn widespread interest as it has gone through numerous twists and turns. With an estimated $400 million inheritance left over from her industrialist father’s success during the Gilded Age, Ms. Clark was the sole heir to one of America’s greatest fortunes. Her few remaining family members are now alleging that those around the reclusive heiress during the end of her life committed fraud in their handling of her affairs.

At issue is the more than $50 million that Ms. Clark left to her personal nurse during her life and through her final last will and testament. The nurse worked for Ms. Clark for about 20 years and, as that time progressed, received almost $26 million in gifts from the heiress including five houses and a $200,000 luxury Bentley automobile.

The family members are contesting the will on the basis that Ms. Clark was not able to understand the nature and extent of her property at the time she made it. They argue that a previous will should apply to her estate, one that leaves the family an inheritance. The will which they are contesting completely cuts the family out.

However, the two wills were created within six weeks of each other. If the court determines that one is invalid because of Ms. Clark’s inability, it may very well determine that the previous will is also invalid. In this situation, the family members would stand to inherit everything because that is what the New York intestacy laws require.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Probate is the legal process involving the administration of a deceased person’s will or the estate of a deceased person without a will (known as dying intestate). Probate is carried out within a Probate Court and is the process in which:

• A will is declared valid or invalid;
• Property is transferred from the deceased to an heir or a beneficiary named in a will;
• An executor of an estate is given legal standing to handle the estate’s business;
• The liabilities and bills of the estate are paid;
• The assets of the estate are distributed.

Where does a probate attorney fit into the process? A probate attorney, also referred to as an estate attorney, can help prepare an estate plan that helps avoid probate, as the probate process can be costly and complex. They can also assist the executor, the person named as the estate’s administrator, with tasks that are faced in probate, such as:

• Preparing and filing probate forms and paperwork;
• Advising and assisting with the sale of the estate’s assets;
• Advising and assisting with the payment of the estate’s liabilities and bills;
• Requesting permission from the probate court for various actions as required under Colorado law;
• Obtain a taxpayer identification number for the estate and file the final tax return;

Some probate lawyers are also willing to be named as the executor of the will. In this case, they are paid a fee to oversee the distribution of assets. The fee for serving as the executor of a will is separate from the fee for preparing a will.

A probate lawyer can be hired by either a person making a will or those who are named within the will. The attorney will have an ethical duty to represent the wishes of his client to facilitate the probate process and act within the best interest of their client both before and during the probate process.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Retirement accounts play an important role in estate planning, one of the main benefits being that retirement accounts avoid probate, as they pass to a named beneficiary using a beneficiary form that you complete when you open your account. IRAs, Individual Retirement Accounts, are not only powerful estate planning tools, but they, of course, are great vehicles for saving for retirement with tax benefits.

In fact, the income tax on an IRA is payable only when funds are withdrawn from the plan, normally in later retirement years when income is lower and you are assumed to be in a lower tax bracket.

While IRAs and other retirement plans are great for retirement savings; you need proper estate planning to pass the account on to your beneficiaries, since the assets in the plan are subject to federal estate and there may be other tax issues if you do not plan properly.

Without proper estate planning, in the hands of the beneficiary, the IRA or retirement plan may be worth less than one half of what it was to the original account owner. Since the IRA beneficiary can make withdrawals over his or her life expectancy, naming a young person or a minor child as beneficiaries is tempting, and it is allowed. But if it is not done properly, naming a minor can have disadvantages and result in fees that reduce the benefit of the accumulated IRA.

In general, when it comes to IRA’s, taxes and estate planning, your spouse has the greatest flexibility as the beneficiary to your retirement account, and they are able to roll over the IRA to their own IRA or decide to treat your IRA as their own IRA. This can provide more tax and planning options, but also may increase the size of the surviving spouse’s estate.

An estate planning attorney can help you determine how your retirement plan fits into your overall estate plan, and offer guidance on the best way to pass your retirement account with the least amount of tax and legal implications.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Part of the comprehensive estate planning process is drafting a set of advance medical directives to allow you to control your medical decisions in the event that you can no longer express your wishes on your own. One of the documents is a living will, which allows you to express your wishes for end of life care. But all too often, people turn to online forms or self-drafted living wills for these important documents, and the top three problems that come up with living wills are:

1. Missing in Action

Sometimes family members or medical providers do not know that a living will exists. If they do know there is a living will, they cannot find it. It’s important that your family knows of the document and where to locate it.

2. Poorly Drafted Documents

Many of the online living will forms are extremely vague and do not offer much guidance when it comes to the emotional decisions surrounding end of life care. Why? It is often much more complex than simply removing life support from a patient with no hope of recovery. Most people are unable to imagine many of the scenarios that can occur, let alone how they will feel in advance.

3. Emotional Choices

While your general wishes are there in black and white, there’s much more to it – the human factor. Tough decisions will need to be made, with various if/then aspects. A document may not be able to insert common sense and emotions into the picture – and sometimes that is what is needed when it comes to these decisions.

There are steps you can take to make sure your end of life wishes are heeded by having other estate planning documents in place, such as a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, which allows you to appoint a health care proxy to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.

An estate planning attorney can not only help you draft the legal documents needed, but they can provide direction and advice that makes the documents work toward a comprehensive estate plan that meets your specific needs and goals.

The Hammond Law Group is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.